Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-11-07

bombs
Sheriff Matson said in relation to the dis
covery; ave had no reason to make the
search at this particular time That is, we
received no intination that anything was
wrong II was merely precautionary meas
ure decided on some time ago, and we select
Sunday as quiet day when the examination
would make less disturbance than if it was
made on week day" The sheriff says that
in view of the developments of the search
the most stringent precautionary measures
will now be taken The prisoners will not be
allowed to exercise much as formerly and
the number OF visitors will be restricted. II
any interviews are granted with the prison
ers it will only be toe near relatives, and in
the presence of Jail officials No opportunity
will be allowed for the exchange OF anything
whatever between the prisoners and outsiders.
Lingg will not be allowed to sac any one
The prisoners will be strongly guarded night
and day, and special officer will watch
each of them from this time to the day Of
the execution.
The news of the finding the bombs spread
like wildfre, and a universal reaction of the
amnesty sentiment was apparent throughout
the city. Hundreds of citizens who hal
signed the petitions for clemency regretted
their action, and wished they had never at,-
pended their names to the papers
The excitement attending the finding of
bombs extended to Mayor Roche and Chief
erai hours on the north side Sunday evening.
They visited the Jail first, and then took a
turn through the upper floors of the criminal
court building, where the quarters of the DO
lice are. Then they went back to the jail
and had long consultation with the sheriff,
which resulted in Chief EherSod ordering
two more companies Of men to join the two
already on guard
Who assisted Lingg to get the deadly mis-
siles past the guards into the cages is to some
extent matter of conjecture, but Just at
present John Won Pinsky and John Vetter
Rivas, well-known Socialistic chara cterS, are
under arrest for lettering around the Jail at a
late hour Saturday night. The police say
that Won Plinsky was trying either to peer
into one of the cell-room windows from the
alley or trying to break it open. They could
not tell which, for they caught him before he
had chance to carry any design he may
have had into effect. Rivas WAS stand
Ing near Ilb ~ lHt al
ley as IL watching for the approach
of policemen. Won Plinksy was locked up
seven or eight weeks ago for larceny, but
dismissed late Saturday afternoon when the
grand jury returned mo bilI' against him.
The Jail officers say that Won Plinsky and
Lingg were more or less intimate during the
formers Incarceration.
A story Is current that Rivas was the man
who had Won Plinsky arrested and that he
failed to materiallze before the grand Jury
The theory advanced ia that Rivas purposely
obtained Won Plinsky's arrest so that he
might be near Lingg Detectives tried to
find Lingg's two sweethearts, but were una.
BILE to locate them. The police do not think
that either of them had any thing to do with
getting the bombs into the Jail, but would
like to have talk with them just the same
The bombs were placed in the hands Of
Capt Setback for examination, and that of
flcsr reported that they appeared to have
been designed for use by some of the con
demned men as agents of self-destructon
He said they differed materially in makeup
from any he had before examined, and he
would be willing to have one of them ex
ploded in an adioining room, as they could
not do serious damage to the surroundings This
bombs meant for the destruction of every.
thing with which their fragments mig hi
come In contact had shells made of lead, zinc
and anthony or some similar composition
pisces of which would fly in every direc
ton when they exploded As rule anti
mony or some similar ingredient was used
in connection with the explosives, so thai
blood poisoning was certain to set il
wherever a wound was made. The fou
bombs found Sunday were made of ordinary
H-inch gas-pipe, which instead of expiodin,
would serve the purpose of gun-barrels Oh
one end of each we're fixed cap and fuse
while the other end contained small bolt
that would fly out as bullets from agun, from
the force created by the explosion of th
cap.
From bis knowledge of the methods O
making bombs for various purposes Capt
Setback gave it as his opinion that tn
bombs found in Lingg's cell were intended t.
be used only as q means of cheating the ga
lows 1t was doubtless the intention Q
Lingg, as well and the other three, to pu
| one end of the bomb In his mouth and ligh
| the fuse, just as he would cigar. The re
sultant explosion would, it was believed
prove fatal
The friends of the Anarchists who hav
been working so hard to save their lives wer
| all amazed at first when they heard of til
bombs. but in talking it over were quite fire
In their expression of the opinion that tn
bombs were placed where found by thos
who were afraid the efforts for pardon migt
be successful. They argued that poiso
would have been much easier to smuggl
into the Jail than the bombs, if Linge
Fischer, Engel and Parsons desired to chez
the gallows.
A search for any one who knew Thoms
Owens, the Pittsburg alleged bomb-throwel
has resulted in finding several who knew hir
while he lived here, and also the confirms
ton OF his Anarchistic tendencies. No or
believes, however, that he threw the bomt
There seems to be an epidemic of bomf
throwers-in their minds-just now one hay
ing developed in the New York penitentiar
and another in Indiana
CI.ec